1. Vasilissa the Beautiful
Daleena Mendoza 1757 Final Project

2. In a Tsardom in Russia there lived a wealthy merchant who had been married for a long time.
He had one daughter named Vasilissa

3. Vasilissa’s mother died when she was very young
Her mother gave her a doll to keep her safe telling her, that whenever she needed help to feed the doll and pray for its help and it will help you.
But she is never to speak of the doll to anyone else.

4. Vasilissa was very sad after her mom passed away
So she fed the doll and asked it to help her with her grief
The doll told her that she will be ok and the sadness will pass

5. Vasilissa’s father married again after a long time of grief
His new wife had two daughters
The new mother was very cold and her daughters were mean to Vasilissa

6. Vasilissa was the most beautiful in all the village.
The stepmother was very cruel to her and left her very little joy in life.
She made her do nothing but chores and work endlessly, while her daughters had all the luxuries

7. Vasilissa would have lost her beauty working so hard if it weren’t for her doll.
She asked for the doll’s help and it would come to life and do her chores allowing her to enjoy life.

8. Vasilissa then grew up to be a beautiful woman and was of age to be married
Lots of men came asking for her hand in marriage but none of them came for her ugly step-sisters
Her stepmother was very angry at this.

9. The stepmother wanted to get rid of Vasilissa
She would send her into the woods to find rare herbs and berries that perhaps she would find the evil Baba Yaga that lived in a house on hens legs
But Vasilissa always came home safe and sound because the doll showed her where the herbs and berries grew

10. One night the stepmother put out all the fires in the house and told Vasilissa she must go and borrow a fire from the Baba Yaga
Vasilissa was afraid and asked her doll what she should do
Her doll said she would be fine and no harm would come to her from the Baba Yaga
So she set out into the forest

11. Vasilissa walked for a long time in the forest
Eventually she saw a man riding a red horse and galloping away
As the man passed the sun rose in the dark forest
Finally she did find the Baba Yaga’s evil house

12. Vasilissa saw a man dressed in black and riding a black horse go through the Baba Yaga’s gate and once he had gone night came.
Vasilissa then heard the Baba Yaga flying through the forest and toward the house.
She came and stopped at the house in front of Vasilissa

13. Vasilissa told asked the Baba Yaga if she could borrow some fire for her and her stepmother and sisters
The Baba Yaga said she would give her the fire if she would stay and work for it
She told her if she didn’t do it she would eat her for her supper

14. The Baba Yaga had Vasilissa serve her all the food that was in her oven leaving Vasilissa little to eat for herself
She told Vasilissa that when she leaves tomorrow she wants her to: Clean the yard, sweep the floors, and cook supper.
She also wants her to take all the black grains and wild peas out of her wheat in the store house
She must do all of this or she will be eaten for supper

15. The Baba Yaga then went to sleep
When Vasilissa was sure she was asleep, she went into the corner and told her doll about the impossible tasks the Baba Yaga left for her to do.
The doll told her not to worry and to get some sleep she will be ok in the morning.

16. Vasilissa woke up the next morning and saw the Baba Yaga leaving
She remembered all the things she needed to do for the day.
She saw that the doll had already swept the floors and cleaned the yard
She found the doll in the store house picking the last of the wild peas out of the wheat
This left Vasilissa only the supper to make before the night and she had all day to prepare

17. Vasilissa completed the supper
The Baba Yaga came home and inspected all the tasks Vasilissa was to complete thinking she could not have completed them
She couldn’t find anything wrong with the work she had done and so she asked for her supper

18. The Baba Yaga was angry that Vasilissa had completed the tasks that seemed impossible for her to do in one day
The Baba Yaga asked her how she possibly completed all of the tasks
Vasilissa said she was just blessed by her dead mother.
The Baba Yaga sent her away with a skull with burning eyes to take to her stepmother who still needed the fire

19. Vasilissa wandered back through the forest and figured that by now they should of gotten fire on their own
She tried throwing away the skull in a nearby bush.
The skull spoke to her told her that she needed to keep it and bring it to her stepmother

20. Vasilissa finally came home and found her stepmother and sisters had no fire.
She learned that when she had left no fire ever lit again inside the home.
Even if they brought a flame from somewhere else it would just go out as soon as it entered the house.
Vasilissa was welcomed by the stepmother and sisters
The skull began to glow fire red and burned everything there except Vasilissa

21. Vasilissa then waited for her father to come home
Vasilissa became bored waiting to she went and got some flax from an old woman in the village
She then began to spin thread out of the flax to make cloth

22. The cloth was so finely made that none of the seamstresses in palace could sew with the cloth.
Not even the greatest seamstress in the land could sew with the cloth.
So the old woman said she knew of someone who could sew the cloth for him
She said it was the same woman who wove the linen
So the Tsar ordered her to bring her to the palace and have her sew his clothes

23. The Old woman went and got Vasilissa to come to the palace to sew the clothes
When Vasilissa arrived the Tsar fell in love with her right away
They were married in a beautiful wedding

24. Her merchant father finally came home
And he and the old woman lived with Vasilissa in the palace happily ever after